PPG Retools in New Push for the Pros

Most of the U.S. purchasing power for architectural paints and coatings is now in the hands of contractors, specifiers and other professionals—a new reality that has PPG Industries rebranding and revamping its entire retail and distribution network.

The new corporate strategy, which will unfold over the rest of 2014, will be felt and seen at more than 600 company-owned stores and 7,000 independent dealers and home centers across the United States.

beltstl.com (left); serfgreen.org (right)

The iconic Porter Paints and Pittsburgh Paints storefronts will disappear from the American landscape this fall when PPG Industries unifies its company-owned stores under a new PPG Paints brand.

The most visible change for consumers will occur this fall, when PPG eliminates the iconic Pittsburgh Paints, Porter Paints and Glidden Professionals names from its company-owned U.S. stores and newly rebrands the retailers as PPG Paints.

Pittsburgh-based PPG, now the world's largest paint and coatings company, announced the plan Wednesday (April 23). The changes affect only PPG's architectural coatings business.

PITTSBURGH, April 23, 2014 – In an effort to maximize its position to serve the professional customer, PPG Industries’ (NYSE:PPG) architectural coatings business announced a comprehensive pro brand strategy in the U.S. that will leverage its brand assets in three key channels of paint distribution. The strategy includes the rebranding of its U.S. company-owned paint stores, an expanded brand and product offering through independent paint dealers, and the expansion of a pro customer program at The Home Depot. With these initiatives, PPG underscores its unique position as the only company with a major presence in all three distribution channels capable of supplying to the professional contractor.

“The professional customer represents approximately 60 percent of the paint purchased and applied in the United States and is an extremely important part of our business,” said Scott Sinetar, PPG vice president, architectural coatings, North America. “We pride ourselves on being the best in the industry at meeting the needs of the pro, and this clarified brand alignment helps us demonstrate that position.”

Sinetar continued, “We want to effectively reach all types of professional customers regardless of where they live and where they want to buy their paint.” With more than 600 PPG company-owned paint stores, 5,000 independent dealer locations and 2,000 home center outlets, PPG offers more distribution options for the professional across the United States than any other paint manufacturer.

PPG Company-Owned Stores – Leveraging the Power of the PPG Brand: All 600-plus U.S. PPG company-owned stores currently operating under the PPG PITTSBURGH PAINTS®, PPG PORTER PAINTS® and GLIDDEN PROFESSIONAL® brands will be rebranded under a newly developed PPG® Paints brand by the fall of 2014. “The new PPG Paints brand will enable us to leverage the equity of the PPG brand to establish one, unified store footprint from the Atlantic to the Pacific,” said Tom Dougherty, PPG director of pro marketing, architectural coatings. “This will enable us to focus our marketing investment in one brand that is recognized by all pro audiences anywhere in the country. This is important, as many professional painters and project specifiers cross state and regional lines. We want them to know that regardless of where their next project may be, they can count on PPG Paints to be there to help them get it done.” Dougherty added that the PPG Paints brand will also be available for independent dealers that want to leverage the power of PPG to reach professional customers.

Independent Dealers – More Brands, More Products, and More Opportunities than Ever Before: The 2013 acquisition of AkzoNobel’s North American decorative coatings business significantly enhanced PPG’s stable of brands available to serve the pro through the independent dealer network, and it made possible the creation of a new, dealer-exclusive brand that will combine the heritage of the PPG Pittsburgh Paints and DEVOE® brands. The completely new PPG Pittsburgh Paints brand, which will launch in late 2014, will incorporate some of the best-known Devoe paint sub-brands under the PPG Pittsburgh Paints parent brand and be available to professional customers only through independent dealers. “The uniting of the strong equities of the PPG Pittsburgh Paints and Devoe Paints brands into this completely redesigned brand offers a powerful option to dealers who want to support a brand that will not be in company stores and home centers,” Dougherty said. “We’re really excited to be able to offer this option to our dealers as one of many in our portfolio.”

In addition to the soon to be relaunched PPG Paints and PPG Pittsburgh Paints brands, the other strong brand options from PPG for independent dealers include the PPG Porter Paints and GLIDDEN® brands. Finally, a recent PPG acquisition of a minority equity stake in The Coatings Alliance enables the company to add the super-premium C2® Paint brand to its industry-leading dealer portfolio.

“Simply put, the independent dealer is a critical component of our strategy to reach the professional customer, and we are really proud to be able to work with our dealers to offer many options,” Dougherty said.

Home Center – Expanding Options for the Pro: PPG and The Home Depot will work more closely together to grow pro paint sales through the world’s largest home center by leveraging the Glidden Professional brand. An expanded Glidden Professional product presence in stores will be supported with joint marketing and sales efforts to build the pro business with this key customer beginning in May.

“It’s truly an exciting time to be a part of PPG, a company that has a strong heritage in quality, durability, performance and serving the professional customer,” Sinetar said. “We are confident these strategic moves and brand enhancements put us in a position to serve the pro better than ever. Our well-respected brands and products, knowledgeable workforce and unmatched distribution opportunities are a good formula for success for us and our customers.”

PPG: BRINGING INNOVATION TO THE SURFACE.™
PPG Industries' vision is to continue to be the world’s leading coatings and specialty materials company. Through leadership in innovation, sustainability and color, PPG helps customers in industrial, transportation, consumer products, and construction markets and aftermarkets to enhance more surfaces in more ways than does any other company. Founded in 1883, PPG has global headquarters in Pittsburgh and operates in nearly 70 countries around the world. Net sales in 2013 were $15.1 billion. PPG shares are traded on the New York Stock Exchange (symbol:PPG). For more information, visit www.ppg.com and follow @PPGIndustries on Twitter.

Bringing innovation to the surface is a trademark of PPG Industries Ohio, Inc.Glidden,Glidden Professional, PPG Pittsburgh Paints and PPG Porter Paints are registered trademarks of PPG Architectural Finishes, Inc.
Devoe is a registered trademark of AkzoNobel.The Home Depot is a registered trademark of Homer TLC, Inc.C2 is a registered trademark of The Coatings Alliance, LLC.

- See more at: http://corporate.ppg.com/Media/Newsroom/2014/PPG-Architectural-Coatings-unveils-U-S-brand-strat#sthash.zFrXqA3B.dpuf

Dominating Distribution

The company will also expand its brands and product offerings at independent paint dealers and enlarge its pro customer program with The Home Depot, the world's largest home-improvement retailer.

"With these initiatives, PPG underscores its unique position as the only company with a major presence in all three distribution channels capable of supplying to the professional contractor," the company's announcement said.

A 2012 PPG presentation shows the expected distribution expansion then in store for the company with the acquisition of AkzoNobel's (right) North American architectural business. Sherwin-Williams has about 3,900 retail stores in the U.S.

That acquisition, which closed in March 2013, added the Glidden, Flood, CIL, Sico and Liquid Nails brands to PPG's portfolio and gave the company licensing rights for Dulux, Devoe architectural coatings, and Sikkens wood products.

But the acquisition was not just a gain for PPG's product line. It represented a major extension of PPG's reach into all three major North American distribution channels.

Reaching the Pro Market

The strategy announced last week realigns brands and channels to reflect PPG's huge architectural coatings portfolio.

The strategy also signals a new emphasis on PPG's most influential purchasers: painting contractors, specifiers and other professionals.

“The professional customer represents approximately 60 percent of the paint purchased and applied in the United States and is an extremely important part of our business,” said Scott Sinetar, PPG vice president, architectural coatings, North America.

PPG Industries

The new strategies focus on the influential professional coatings market, which now makes up 60 percent of PPG's paint and coatings market in the United States.

“We pride ourselves on being the best in the industry at meeting the needs of the pro, and this clarified brand alignment helps us demonstrate that position.”

The new system will give PPG "more distribution options for the professional across the United States than any other paint manufacturer," the company said.

Here's what's ahead.

PPG Stores

More than 600 company-owned stores nationwide now variously branded for Pittsburgh Paints, Porter Paints and Glidden Professional will have one look and one new brand this fall: PPG Paints.

“The new PPG Paints brand will enable us to leverage the equity of the PPG brand to establish one, unified store footprint from the Atlantic to the Pacific,” said Tom Dougherty, PPG director of pro marketing, architectural coatings.

“This will enable us to focus our marketing investment in one brand that is recognized by all pro audiences anywhere in the country," said Dougherty. "This is important, as many professional painters and project specifiers cross state and regional lines."

PPG Industries

PPG shows the global paint and coatings pie in December 2012 (left), with the market shift expected (right) from its then-impending acquisition of the AkzoNobel business. That deal closed in March 2013.

The PPG Paints brand will also be available for independent dealers who want it, Dougherty said.

Sherwin-Williams will remain the company-owned paint-store leader in the U.S., with about 3,900 stores.

Independent Dealers

Independent dealers will offer more PPG brands and products, including a new "dealer-exclusive brand that will combine the heritage of the PPG Pittsburgh Paints and Devoe brands."

The "new" PPG Pittsburgh Paints brand, launching in late 2014, will incorporate some of the best-known Devoe paint sub-brands under the Pittsburgh brand and be available to professional customers only through independent dealers.

The newly redesigned brand will offer dealers the cachet of a brand that is not available in company stores or home centers.

Independent dealers will also be selling PPG Porter Paints and Glidden, as well as the "super-premium" C2 Paint brand, which PPG recently announced it would manufacture for an independent group of dealers called The Coatings Alliance.

The Coatings Alliance LLC / Courtesy PPG

Independent dealers will be selling the "super-premium" private-label C2 Paint, to be made by PPG.

Dougherty called independent dealers "a critical component of our strategy to reach the professional customer."

The Home Depot

The Glidden Professional brand will be at the center of an expanded pro-focused PPG presence in The Home Depot stores. That push will be supported by joint marketing and sales efforts focused on professional customers beginning in May.

The distribution and branding changes all underscore PPG's "strong heritage in quality, durability, performance and serving the professional customer,” Sinetar said.

“We are confident these strategic moves and brand enhancements put us in a position to serve the pro better than ever."